My sister-in-law canned some peaches. She did it properly, in a hot water bath, boiled the peaches beforehand, used a hot light sugar syrup, etc.
However, someone has now told her that there aren't enough peaches in the jars and that means they won't be safely canned. It's not like the jars are only half-full, they're just not stuffed in so not another one could be squeezed in.
I was under the impression that it's important to leave headspace (air) at the top of the jars, and that you have to insert a spatula or knife to make sure there aren't air bubbles, but I didn't think it was essential to jam the fruit in so there's not even a tiny space left.
Can someone enlighten me on this? Is it safe if there's some air in between the peaches? Is it a matter of safety or just a possibility that the peaches might discolor or perhaps not taste as good? Does she throw them out? Thanks.
The jars should be firm, reasonably packed, but not crammed in.
You have everything else right. If she used a little lemon juice in there things should be fine.
I made the same mistake on the first batch of peaches that I canned, and I have eaten the contents of some of the jars of peaches and they were fine-but, please, I am no expert-I didn't cook the peaches-they were raw-packed in light syrup-the only "cooking" the peaches received were the 45 seconds they were in boiling water in order to easily remove their skin. Also, just because something doesn't "can" or seal, doesn't mean that it isn't any good-just let the jar of fruit cool and pop it in the fridge-it is good for about a month-I think.
The Colorado extention agent of Colorado State University would be very happy to answer any of your questions. Every county has an extention agent, here is the link: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/cedirectory/countylist.cfm
Yes you have to leave headspace in the top of all of your jars when you can. As long as she did the fruit properly and her jars were all sealed, she has nothing to worry about. Sometimes I only get half of a jar. The only time it would be bad is if you pressure cooked them, then the jars could burst.
I would not worry about them and enjoy them.
Check with your county extension office. They have experts and recipes that will tell you for sure if she did it properly.
You can leave up to half an inch of air/space. Any more than that and you should put the jars in the fridge and eat them asap - they'll likely only last a couple months, if that.
(it's because there are bacteria in the canning process - you got rid of most of it w/ the boiling water - but there still is. So too much air allows them to reproduce and turn the peaches bad)
I wouldn't throw them away unless they start to bubble up or smell yeasty / spoiled when they're opened. Here's a link I found ... It doesn't say anything about cramming them in ... And you are correct about headspace.
